Slumdogs of the Universe

The new Danny Boyle movie opens in select U.S. theaters today. In keeping with his previously unpredictable body of work, the British filmmaker enters totally different turf and subject matter; this one's a dark fairy tale of a love story set in the slums, crime world, and call centers of Mumbai. The movie has all of the inventive camera angles and edits, eye-popping color, cool music, and fecal matter that you'd expect from the guy behind 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, and Sunshine.


Last week, I interviewed two of the movie's stars--Dev Patel from England's Skins TV series and India-based model and travel show host Freida Pinto. The article won't come out until early next month, but I'll share a snippet of our conversation as a teaser.

GR: Dev, what was more daunting--filming in India or working with a supermodel?
DP: Everything. Being out in the middle of Mumbai with Danny Boyle was daunting enough. So was doing scenes with Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, some of them in a packed studio with a big audience, and then dancing with Freida.

GR: Could the locals sense you weren’t from around there?
DP: I asked Danny if I could come out a week early, and would walk the street for hours. No matter what clothes I wore, when I walked down the street I gave off that aura. I found it’s the pace of things, really. Mumbai moves fast, but everyone takes their time and relaxes.

GR: Freida, did you have to give him any tips?
FP: Maybe when he spit his gum on the street; that was not allowed. He also got conned when he went shopping. He spent 250 bucks for a scarf that cost 80 rupees. But within a week or two, he pretty much got it.

GR: Dev, you were the only actor who was not local.
DP: Jamal was calmness within the storm, and only became angry during certain parts. He was softly spoken, and I knew I could bring that to him.

GR: Because he was so calm, his accent could be different.
DP: My accent was bad!

FP: I don’t think it was bad. In Mumbai people speak different accents anyway. Plus, he had the call-center training.



Go see Slumdog Millionaire now and look for GR57 after Thanksgiving.